Pressure regulator



Oct- 1 1935 w. l. THRALL PRESSURE REGULATOR Filed NOV. 6, 1931 im T. mw. W

Attorney 5 Patented Oct. 1, 1935 UNITED STATES PAT E NT OFF ICE PRESSUREREGULATOR poration, Alhambra, California Calif., a corporation ofApplication November 6, 1931, Serial No. 573,379.y

6 Claims.

This invention relates to pressure regulating apparatus, andparticularly-to a pressure controlledreducing valve. applicable tovalves usedr for controlling fluids ofany kind, in the presentspecication, the invention is described as applied to a pressureregulator for gas. These regulators are used in gas lines so as todeliver gas received atV a relatively high pressure, at a lower pressurein a static line or service line. It is necessary to maintain a sub--stantially constantr pressure in the static line so that the gasdelivered to the consumers burners will burn under substantiallyvconstant pressure.

Heretoiore, it has been the practice to employ a balanced valve havingtwo valve disks cooperating with two valve seats, but this constructionis very diicult to maintain the effective closing of both of the valveopenings. The heads of the valve disks are rigidly connected together bya stem, and the valve seats must be precisely thesame distance from eachother as the valve disks. Any slight unequality ineither of the valveseats, or any undue Wear occasioned by theuse of the valve willimmediately prevent one or the other of the valve disks from seatingproperly on its seat; in other words, such a valve in a short period ofservice is apt to leak at one of its seats. The pressure regulation ofsuch valves has usually been accomplished heretofore by means of apressure actuated diaphragm with connecting parts thatv connect it tothe valve so that as the pressure in the static line falls, the valvewill automatically be'moved, to a further opened position. In this Way,lthesef valvesoperate automatically to maintain asubstantially constantstatic pressure in the static line in spite of wide variations in theamount of gas being consumed in the line. As usually constructed, themechanism connecting the pressure controlled member with the valverequires considerable force to operate the valve. Furthermore, theworking parts for. operating the valve are usually subjected. to Contactwith the. gas which is apt to corrode them, and thereby impair theirusefulness.

The general object of this invention is to produce, a valve of thiskind, which, tho balanced,

avoids the necessity of using two disk closures, that isto say, a valvethat provides a single seat and a4 single valve closure cooperating witha seat.

A further'object of the invention is to provide a construction whichenables the valve and the actuating parts immediately'associated with itto be readily removable.

While the invention is (Cl. th-27),

A furtherV object of the invention is to provide a construction whichwill enable the working parts immediately'associated with the valve tobeenclosed in such a way that they can be readily maintained in alubricated condition, and so that they will be out of contact with thegas that flows through the valve. In valves ofA this kind, a closure isusually guided to slide toward or from' the valve seat, and one ofv thedircultiesV in at-l taining eiiectiveclosingV ofthe valveV is tomaintain perfect alinement between the lineof travel of the valve andthe axis of the-seat. Any faults in alinernent tend to produce aleakyvalve when closed. One oi the objects of the-invention is toovercome this diiculty and to provide a construction for the valve whichwillienable the valve closure or valve head to adapt itself to the seat.

Further objects of the invention will appearhereinafter.

The invention consists cf-novel partsand combinations of parts to bedescribed hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an eicientpressure regulator.

A preferred embodiment ofthe invention is described in thefollowingspecification, While the broad scope of the invention ispointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through the valveand passing through the removable cover of the casing, certain partsbeingY broken away, and shown in section;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken about on the line 2--2' ofv Figure1, andparticularly illustratng the actuating parts immediately connectedwith the valve for movingr it'toward or from its seat, and illustratingthe construction which I employ` to prevent thegas from coming intodirect contact withA them or their bearings; this View is a fragmentaryView and certain parts are broken away;r

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 3 3 of Figurel, and passing through the valve head and valve seat;v this view furtherillustrates details of theA arrangement of the actuating mechanism forcontrolling-the position of the valve,. andY a means for effecting thebalancing of the valve;

Figure 4 is a-.fragmentary view. and isI a section 50 the means forattaching the valve head to en-.

able it to adapt itself to the valve seat whenV it comes upon it.

Referring more particularly to the parts, I indicates a valve casinghaving an inlet 2 at one side where the iluid or gas under relatively'high pressure is received, and having an outlet 3 which is to beconnected to the static line in which a substantially constantY pressureis to be maintained by the automatic action of the Valve 4 cooperatingwith its seat 5 so as to close more or less the valve opening I5 throughthe seat. Within the casing, I provide guiding means 'I for guiding thevalve and this guiding means is preferably in the form of a cylinderhaving a bore 3 in alinement with the axis of the valve. This guide ispreferably carried on a movable member 3, which, in the presentinstance, is in the form of a base member or inner cover plate Ill ofcircular form received on an annular shoulder II at the front of thecasing. The rear end of valve 4 is guided in the bore 8, and at theremote end of the bore with respect to the valve, I provide a balancingchamber I2 to which gas under the relatively high pressure is admittedfrom the small orice I3 at the inlet 2. From this point, gas is takenoff through a pipe connection `I 4 and introduced to the balancingchamber I2 through a drilled passage I5 to which the end of the pipe I4is connected. The rear end of the cylinder 'I is closed by a suitablegas-tight plug I6.

Within the cylinder, a piston I1 is mounted to slide freely and theforward end of this piston is connected by an extension or block I8 tothe Valve head 4. This connection will be described more in detailhereinafter. As illustrated, this extension or block I 8 may be attachedto the adjacent end of the piston by meansY of a stud I3 carried on theblock, and the piston is made Agas-tight at this end by means ofsuitable packing, such as a cup-leather 2D. At the other end of thepiston, a similar cup-leather 2l is provided. The cup-leather 20, ofcourse, prevents gas in the valve chamber 22 within the casing fromleaking along the side face of the piston I'I. This is to prevent thegas within the valve casing from having access to the workingY parts andparticularly the bearings of the Working parts that move the piston Ilto and fro in regulating the position of the valve 4. The cup-leather2|,

of course, prevents the gas in the balancing chamber I2 from gainingaccess to these working parts. The cylinder 'l is preferably made as acasting connected integrally by a neck 23 to the plate IS, and, ifdesired, a smaller neck 24 can beV provided connecting these parts tocarry the passage I5 already described. With this or ganization ofparts, it will be evident that if the plate I G is removed it will carrywith it the valve and piston Il. It would also carry with it theactuating parts for the valve which are immediately associated with thepiston and these parts are mounted in the neck 23 so as to: preventtheir contact with the gas flowing through the valve. In order toaccomplish this, I provide a rock-shaft 24 mounted in the tubular neck23 (see Figure 2) preferably by means of suitable' ball bearings 25. Theouter end of this shaft projects through the disk Vor circular plate I0,and is suit- Y ably packed by a stuiiing box 26 to prevent gas frompassing into the chamber 2'1 which surrounds therrock-shaft and whichcommunicates at 28 with the interior of the cylinder I through themedium of a large slot. At this slot a short arm 29 attached to therock-shaft extends upwardly into a socket or slot 30 out verticallythrough the piston and at this point a roller 3l may be provided to rollagainst the vertical side faces-32 of this slot or socket 3U. The innerend of the chamber 2T is closed by a gas-tight plug 33, and the chamber21 at a suitable point is provided with a grease passage 34 to which afitting 35 may be attached to enable the chamber to be charged withgrease under pressure. The grease not only lls the chamber 2S, but willforce its way through the inner ball bearing 25 and ll the end of thechamber which connects with the bowl of the cylinder, therebylubricating the piston and the roller 3 I.

The arm 29 of the rock-shaft preferably projects upwardly in asubstantially Vertical position. The rock-shaft is provided with anactuating arm 33 which preferably extends in a general hori-` zontaldirection. This arm is located on the outer side of the plate II'l, andis connected by any suitable means to a pressure controlled member suchas a diaphragm 31. This diaphragm is preferably mounted in a suitablecasing 38 having a pressure chamber 39 on one side of the diaphragm andan air chamber 39a on the other side. The pressure chamber 3S ispreferably on the upper side so that an increase of pressure in thischamber will tend to move the valve toward its seat. The connection fromthe actuating member 31 is preferably accomplished by the medium of aVconnecting rod 4B and the construction is such as n to enable this rodto be readily disconnected to permit the plate Ill to be removed(carrying the valve and its working parts). For this purpose, theconnecting rod 4U is preferably formed in two sections 44a and 40hconnected together by a scarf joint 4I, the upper end of section 4Gbbeing attached to a piston 42 fitting loosely in a guide bore 43 andmounted on aY threaded stem 44 that passes through the center of thediaphragm 3`I which carries a nut 45 to tighten the clamping disks 46ofthe diaphragm. Between the piston Vis either counterweighted orprovided with a spring which counterbalances more or less the: weight ofthe diaphragm disks 46 and the con! necting rod and other partsconnected with them. In Figure 1, counterbalancing weights 56 areillustrated, but in Figure 6,. I illustrate the use of a spring 5IinsteadV of these* weights. The amount of weight in the counterbalancewhen used in the construction illustrated in Figure 1 can be altered bychanging the number of the weights 50. the construction shown in Figure6, the effect of the counterbalance can be changed by adjustment InA ofa threaded boltJ4 52 with which the end of the springis hooked.

The air chamber Seals connected to the atmosphere through a suitable airvent Sa.

In taking apart the mechanism of the valve by removing the pivot bolt53a that supports the counterbalancing lever et, this lever can bedisengaged from the casing. The plate 9 is clamped on its seat by aclamping ring 9a. This cover is u provided with a slot 55 in its wallthrough the lever passes.

In order to insure eliective closing of the valve 4l against its seat 5,I prefer to attach the valve to the block i3 in such a way as to permita slight wobbling movement of the valve as it comesonto its seat. Thisconstruction is illustrated in detail in Figures ll, 5, and 7. In orderto accomplish this, I provide the forward end of the block i3 with avalve carrier having a forwardly projecting shank 5@ which fits looselyin a bore 5l in the rear face of the valve head ll. Between the bore 5land the side face of the shank 515, a circumferential groove is formedinto which a resilient ring or spring ring 59 is received. This ring isa split ring. It exerts a slight outward thrust against the iace of thebore, and is preferably received in a slight annular depression orrecess 62B formed in the bore, thereby enabling the split ring to retainthe head on the shank, but at the same time permitting slight wobblingor lateral movement. In order to enable the valve to move freelylaterally to accommodate its position to the opening in the seat, Iprefer to iorm the shank 53 with a convexly curved end face which seatsagainst the fiat bottom face di of the bore 5l. This enables the pistonto exert a thrust against the valve'head effectively to close the valve.

The valve is held yieldingly in an alining position. A sleeve 62 ofyielding material envelops the block l 8 and extends over a tubularshank lie that extends back from the valve head to keep foreign matterout of the joint. The forward end of the sleeve 62 may lie close againstthe rear face 64 of the valve.

In the embodiment of the valve shown in Figure 5, the construction forcarrying the valve is the same as that illustrated in Figure 4, but thevalve is of slightly diiierent form, that is, the conical face 65 of thevalve does not come against the seat, but the valve is provided with anannular ange SES, the forward face of which comes against a knife edgeseat 67.

In order to enable the cover 51% to be applied or taken olf witho-utinterfering with the pipe connection it, the lower edge oi the cover isprovided with a deep notch B8 (see Figure 3).

In order to reduce the friction and make the valve more sensitive in itsoperation, the lower end oi the connecting rod iii is connected to thelong arm of the rock-shaft by means of a ball bearing S9 (see Figure 3).

The weights 59, would be sumcient to completely counterbalance theweight of the connecting rod and the parts connected with it and tosupport the pressure in chamber 39. The amount of weights employed orthe adjustment of the spring 5l determines the static pressure in thestatic line to which the outlet 3 of the valve delivers the gas.

In the operation of the apparatus, if the pressure in the static linearises for any reason, for example, by a reduction in the consumption ofgas, this rise in pressure is communicated to the pressure chamber 39,and the force pressing down on the upper face of the diaphragm willincrease, thereby causing a downward movement of the connecting rod land a consequent movement of the valve l toward its seat; mother words,this would cause the valve to move so as to reduce its effectiveopening. On the other hand, if the pressure falls in the static line forany reason, this fall in pressure will be communicated to the pressurechamber 39, and the counterweights 5B applied on lever it will cause theconnecting rod e@ to move upwardly thereby further opening the valve.

By reason of the fact that the bearings for the rock-shaft -i areenclosed and outl of contact with the gases, they are not subject tosuch corrosion, which causes difficulties in the continued use ofpressure regulating apparatus as usually constructed. Furthermore, asthese bearings are ball bearings, and the bearing 69 is also a ballbearing, it requires very little change of pressure in the chambers $9to cause a movement oi the valve. In this way, I produce a valve whichis very sensitive in operation.

v'The flexible connection between the valve head l and the shank onwhich it is mounted enables the valve to adapt itself nicely toits seatinsuring that the valve when closed will not leak.

The valve seats illustrated in Figures Ll and 5 be made oi any suitablecomposition.

It is understood that the embodiment of the J invention described hereinis only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I donot wish to be limited in the practice of my invention, nor in myclaims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

l.. In a reducing valve, the combination of a casing having a valve-seatand opening therein for admitting a fluid, a valve seating at the saidopening, guiding means for the valve in the form of a cylinder at therear 'end of the valve, a base member carrying the cylinder andremovably mounted on the casing, a rock-shaft mounted in the said basemember and having an arm connecting with the valve to move the sametoward or from its seat, a pressure-controlled member with a pressurechamber adjacent to the same, and a disconnectible connection from thepressure controlled member to the rock-shaft and operating whendisconnected to permit the base member and valve to be removed.

2. In a reducing valve, the combination of a casing having a valve-seatand opening therein for admitting a fluid, a valve seating at the saidopening, guiding means for the valve in the form of a cylinder at therear end of the valve, a basemember in the form of a cover-plateremovably mounted in the side oi' the casing, and carrying the cylinder,a rock-shaft mounted in the said base-member and having an arm withinthe casing connecting with the valve to move the same toward or from itsseat, a pressure controlled member With a pressure 'chamber adjacent to4the same and a disconnectible connection from the pressure-controlledmember to the rockshaft and operating when disconnected to permit thebase-member and valve to be removed..

3. In a reducing valve, the combination of a casing having a valve-seatand opening therein for admitting a fluid, a valve seating at the saidopening, guiding means for the valve in the form of a cylinder at therear end of the valve, a basemember in the form of a circular plateremovably mounted in the side of the casing, and carrying the cylinder,a rock-shaft mounted in the said base-member havingV an arm connectingwith the valve to move the same toward or from its seat and having anactuating arm on the outer side of the circular plate, apressure-controlled member with a pressure chamber adjacent to the same,and a connecting rod connecting the pressurecontrolled memberY to thesecond named arm of the rock-shaft.

4. In a reducing valve, the combination of a Valve seat, With an openingtherein for admitting a fluid, a valve seating at the said opening, aguide cylinder at the back of the valve with a piston movably mountedtherein and connected with the valve, said cylinder having a balancingchamber at the rear end of the piston remote from the valve, a membercarrying said cylinder and having a closed chamber communicating withthe interior or" the said cylinder, a rock-shaft with bearings for thesame in the said closed chamber, and having an arm projecting into thecylinder and engaging the piston to enable the rock-shaft to move thepiston to and fro to regulate the position ci the valve with respect toits seat, pressure-controlled means, and means connecting the same withthe rock-hait outside ci l the said closed chamber.

5. In a reducing valve, the combination of a casing having a valve-seatand opening therein for admitting a iiuid, a valve seating at the saidopening, a guide cylinder at the back of the valve with a piston movablymounted therein and connected with the valve, said cylinder having abalancing chamber at the rear end of the piston remote from the valve, amember carrying said cylinder and having a closed chamber communicatingwith the interior of the said cylinder, a

rock-shaft with bearings for the same in the said closed chamber, meansconnecting the rock-shaft with the piston to enable the rock-shaft tomove the piston to and fro to regulate the position of the valve withrespect to its seat, pressure con- 5 trolled means, and means connectingthe same With the rock-shaft for actuating the rock-shaft, said cylinderbeing located in the path of the fluid passing through the said casing,said piston having iiuid-tight packing at its ends preventing the fluidfrom having access to the bearings in said closed chamber.

6. In a reducing valve, the combination of a casing having a valve-seatandV opening therein for admitting a fluid, a valve seating at the saidopening, a guide cylinder at the back of the valve With a piston movablymounted therein and' connected with the valve, said cylinder having a.balancing chamber at the rear end of the piston remote from the valve, amember carryingsaid cylinder and having a closed chamber communieatingwith the interior of the said cylinder, a rock-shaft with bearings forthe same in the said closed chamber, and having an arm projecting intothe cylinder and engaging the piston to enable the rock-shaft to movethe piston to and fro to regulate the position of the valve with respectto its seat, pressure-controlled means, and means connecting the samewith the rock-shaft outside of the said closed chamber, said cylinderbeing located in the path of the uid passing through the said easing,said piston having uuid-tight packing at its ends preventing the uidfrom having access to the interior of said closed chamber. 3V

WALTER I. THRALL.

